A tram derailed on Korenmarkt on Saturday afternoon due to a problem with a switch.
In the center of Ghent on the Korenmarkt in the direction of Veldstraat, a derailed tram has caused a lot of disruption. The tram that derailed due to a technical defect in the switch gave De Lijn employees a lot of work to push it back onto the track. There were no injuries in the incident.
Travelers noticed little of the derailed tram and were able to safely leave the tram. Tram traffic towards Sint Pietersstation and Evergem was diverted as best as possible. All buses were also diverted from the center until the late afternoon so that most travelers could continue their way.
Strangely enough, the Korenmarkt was not made traffic-free in order to allow the works to be carried out as smoothly as possible, which later in the afternoon caused problems for emergency services who had to make their way through the many spectators. The police drove past several times but took no action to keep the crowd at bay.
“The cause is a problem with a switch,” says spokeswoman Karen Van der Sype. “The incident happened around 14pm and our teams are working to resolve it. Since only two of the seven carriages have derailed, the tram will probably be able to be pushed back onto the tracks. That is a technical matter, so everything will probably not be finished until 17 p.m..”
“The travelers who were on the tram hardly noticed the derailment,” assures Karen Van der Sype of De Lijn. "They will not have felt much more than a light physical shock."
derailments
Derailments of trams occur more often at De Lijn. A tram derailed on the Noorderlaan in Antwerp in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The aircraft involved came to rest partly on the roadway and also hit an electricity pole. The damage to the tram device and the pole in question is considerable, but fortunately no one was injured.
